The Real Whitey Bulger Disses Johnny Depp in 'Black Mass'
James "Whitey" Bulger is a notorious South Boston mobster, but he sounds like a high-maintenance diva when it comes to his own portrayal in "Black Mass." You'd think having Johnny Depp play you in a movie would be flattering, especially when you're a criminal who doesn't really deserve to be embodied by an A-list heartthrob.
Bulger, 86, didn't communicate with Depp, and apparently he has no plans to see the film, even if they show it in his Florida prison. But he's still bashing "Black Mass" and its star, via his defense lawyer, with a bizarre amount of self-righteous indignation. And even though Johnny Depp said he aimed to portray White Bulger "as a human being" with "a kind heart" in addition to a cold one, he's not going to get any thank you cards from the real-life subject.
Bulger's defense attorney spoke for the gangster, telling People:
Johnny Depp might as well have been playing the Mad Hatter all over again as far as James Bulger is concerned. Hollywood greed is behind the rush to portray my client, and the movie missed the real scourge created in my client's case, the real menace to Boston during that time and in other mob cases around the country – the federal government's complicity in each and every one of those murders with the top echelon informant program."
Yes, poor Whitey Bulger was just a victim and greedy Hollywood and government officials are the real villains. (Maybe Whitey was just hoping that Leonardo DiCaprio would play him.)
"Black Mass" opens today, September 18.
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